Chapter 143: Langtao Hero

Imperial Palace, Wuying Palace.

Zhu Di knelt in front of Zhu Yuanzhang, not daring to take a breath.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat behind the dragon desk with expressionless face, lowering his head and flipping through the memorials of the ministers. The father and son quietly confronted each other in a silent way. In the silent atmosphere, an insurmountable gap was gradually separating the father and son. The air seemed to have solidified into pieces, which was suffocating.

The five phoenix bells in front of the Meridian Gate rang, and the melodious bells rang eight times, and it was already afternoon.

Zhu Di's burly body moved slightly, raised his head, and silently looked at the old father with glittering hair. A feeling of sadness rose from his heart.

Once upon a time, he was the son of his father's favorite. He was brave and courageous. He was extremely smart. He led the soldiers of Beiping Prefecture to search for grasslands and deserts, kill the Tartars, and capture the enemy chiefs. The Northern Yuan court retreated step by step under his attack. The name of King Zhu Di of Yan made the Tartars change his face when they heard this.

How much praise and appreciation was from the father at that time!

Every time he returns to Beijing, his father always greets him at the highest level, and he always rewards and smiles with never being stingy to him. The picture of a kind father and a filial son has once become a good story in the Ming Dynasty.

When did the father gradually become so indifferent to him?

Zhu Di's hard cheeks couldn't help but twitch.

A prince who enjoys all his glory and favor suddenly becomes cold to him. Who can withstand such a gap?

Strong regret filled Zhu Di's heart.

If he hadn't been so impulsive in the imperial garden that day, if he had said that disrespectful word to Zhu Yunwen, he would have been the prince he valued most in his father's heart today, and the gentle and polite, but heroic Prince Yan.

If you want to accomplish great things, you must first endure it. Only by enduring all unfairness can you have the ability to seize the world.

Zhu Di realized that he had lost one step, and he could not bear it at the critical moment. The loss was very fatal. His fiefdom, his military power, and his ambitions might all be destroyed. At the same time, he also lost the favor of his father. The orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be getting further and further away from him.

When Zhu Di thought that he might die of old age in the capital in the future, he would become a down-and-out emperor who had no power and was always worried about being cleansed by the new emperor, his body couldn't help but tremble.

I am a hero of a generation, how could I die so cowardly?

Fight! Fight again! I still have a chance!

A loud head hit the scarlet carpet in Wuying Hall, and Zhu Di's voice was a bit sad and angry and choked.

"Father! My son asked my father again today. The Northern Yuan Tartars Qier Jis's troops invaded our Ming Dynasty and surrounded my fiefdom of Beiping. This was a great provocation to our Ming Dynasty and a great insult to my ministers. My son begged my father to be kind to him and sent me back to Peking to lead the army to defeat the Tatars, and repay this great humiliation!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's hand that was flipping through the memorial stopped immediately, and he didn't say a word for a long time without saying anything.

Zhu Di clenched his fists tightly, and he felt a layer of sweat oozing out of his palms.

I don't know how long it took, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and looked up at Zhu Di, with a clear light emitted from his eyes, as if he could see through Zhu Di's heart at first glance.

"Di'er, back to Peiping... is it really so important to you?" Zhu Yuanzhang's hoarse voice was filled with deep fatigue.

Zhu Di's heart was beating wildly, but his expression remained unchanged and kowtowed again, and said, "The father has given the Beiping Prefecture to Erchen. This is the father's trust and favor for Erchen. Since ancient times, Wen and Wu have been warned. Erchen's fief is besieged by a mere small tribe. Such a deep hatred really makes Erchen still feel humiliated. Erchen has fought with Gui Lichi, the leader of the Qierji tribe over the years. Gui Lichi is often beaten to pieces by Erchen and is defeated. Now this barbarian leader has actually surrounded my city while his son is not in Peiping. If Erchen does not kill his head this time, how can he be worthy of his father's favor? How can he face the civil and military ministers in the court? How can he set an example for all the brothers and uncles? Every word of this is from the heart, I would like to ask my father to be kind!"

After saying that, Zhu Di kowtowed Zhu Yuanzhang fiercely, and then he couldn't get up. Tears in the tiger's eyes fell on the scarlet carpet, one drop after another, blooming like a splash of water, breaking...

The Wuying Palace returned to silence. In the spacious hall, only Zhu Di's sniffle sounds echoing in the hall slowly.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat behind the dragon case and stared at him with a motionless expression, but his eyes showed a deep hesitation.

Is this son he has always loved the most, really unscrupulous? Did he really covet Dabao? Has he really been a slander to me, his father?

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes, and his old face showed a look of pain. He did not want to believe that his father, the filial son, who had been kind for many years, was just a play for the civil and military officials of the court and for the people of the world. This son, who seemed gentle, filial, and wise and brave, did everything he did to seize the throne!

Zhu Yuanzhang has been the emperor for thirty years and has always been suspicious of ministers. Every time he has doubts, he would rather kill a thousand people by mistake than let one go. As he is approaching his seventy years old, he dares to swear to heaven that he has never been suspicious of the descendants of the Zhu family. This world is the world of the Zhu family. I have given you hereditary throne, give you rich clothes and food, and give you supreme glory. How can the descendants of the Zhu family not be satisfied? What else do you want? Want to power? Want to the throne? No! It is not yours! It is Yunwen!

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly opened his eyes, and the tired look in his eyes turned into two sharp swords that were as sharp as if they had just been unsheathed. The silent atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn and solemn.

"Di'er, tell me, the soldiers of the Qi'er Jis army are really not planning behind the scenes?" Zhu Yuanzhang spoke to his son in a gloomy tone for the first time in his life.

Zhu Di trembled unconsciously, and suddenly felt a layer of cold sweat oozing behind him. Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's sharp and murderous gaze, Zhu Di felt for the first time that this seemingly old father was not as simple as he imagined.

Zhu Di straightened his chest without hesitation and said loudly: "If the father regards his son as a person who is in the enemy country, the son will not say more. I hope to die to make my son clear of his innocence. My father, take care of him!"

After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang reacted, Zhu Di stood up, his expression showed an extremely decisive look. He bit his teeth hard, then lowered his head and bumped into a dragon pillar closest to him in the hall. The situation was very fast, as if he had made up his mind to die.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so shocked that he suddenly stood up from the chair. His old face was so scared that he was pale and shouted violently: "Di'er! Don't be reckless! Someone is here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several imperial guards in the palace quickly ran into the palace. Seeing Zhu Di hit the hall pillar, the imperial guards in the imperial guards changed drastically and rushed forward to wait for the stop.

However, Zhu Di seemed to really want to die. No matter how fast the Jinyi guards move, they could not stop his flashy figure.

With a loud "bang", Zhu Di's head hit the dragon pillar in the hall solidly, then his body tilted and fell to the ground with a sluggish slump. Blood on his forehead quickly emerged and flowed down his forehead to the ground, and soon mixed it with the scarlet carpet in the hall.

The incident happened too suddenly, and Zhu Yuanzhang was so shocked that he gasped. Seeing Zhu Di slumped on the ground, as if he had no hope, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel thrilled in his heart, and his eyes were slacking off and shouted: "Di'er--"

Zhu Di, who fell to the ground, had no response, and his face looked a little unwilling and miserable.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the at a loss in the palace and said angrily: "What are you bastards waiting for? Hurry up and Xuan Yu Doctor! Hurry up! Di'er can't save you, you all have to die!"

When the guards heard this, they were all trembling and turned their heads and ran to the Imperial Hospital outside the palace.

While speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang had already walked to Zhu Di and squatted down. His hands, which were as dry as a tree, tremblingly supported Zhu Di's head, and his turbid eyes were filled with tears.

"Di'er, Di'er... why are you doing this? Why are you doing this--"

My son is begging for death in front of him, but he ends up with a white-haired man who is sent to a black-haired man before he is old. So what if he is the co-lord of the world? So what if he enjoys all the respect of the world? How can such a sad and desolate old scene be filled by glory and wealth?

When Zhu Yuanzhang thought of this, he became more and more sad and sad. He held Zhu Di's head and cried endlessly.

Zhu Di finally had some vitality under Zhu Yuanzhang's heart-wrenching cry and shaking, and his silent chest returned to a faint ups and downs.

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he saw this and said in tears: "Di'er, Di'er... you finally woke up. I'm not dead yet. How could you leave me first? You are unfilial! Unfilial!"

The gray-haired old man cried as sad as a child at this moment.

Zhu Di moaned and opened his eyes blankly, but the blood on his forehead covered his entire face. Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly raised the sleeve of the dragon robe and carefully wiped away the blood on his face.

After a while, Zhu Di gradually came back to his senses and said hoarsely: "Father, son minister... isn't he dead?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was happy and angry, his expression became extremely complicated, and he shouted angrily: "Of course you are not dead! You are an unfilial son, you cannot say anything well, and you have to hit your head against the pillar. Is this what the Son of Man should do?"

Zhu Di smiled miserably and said weakly: "The father actually suspected his son's minister... he had an affair with the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The son's minister could not argue,... the only one is dead!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said griefly: "Father is wrong, Father believes in you! You have conquered the Northern Yuan Dynasty several times and made many extraordinary achievements for our Ming Dynasty. You killed Tartars and killed the enemy chiefs. Their contributions are in the country. I shouldn't doubt you, I shouldn't--"

Zhu Di smiled weakly: "Father wishes that my sons will be innocent, and that my sons will die without regrets!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily: "You won't be allowed to speak dying easily in the future! The man of Ang Zang is just as straightforward and looks down on the heroes of the world. How can he learn from the attitude of his children?"

"The son minister is as fierce as fire, and would rather break than bend. Today, he suffered a grievance of not being vain. Moreover, this grievance of not being vain was put on the head of the son minister by the father. What else can the son minister besides death?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were crying and hugged Zhu Di's head and choked, "Father believes in you, Father believes in you... Di'er, Father gives an order to return to Peking to lead the army, use your sword to drive the Tartars out of the Great Wall, let the barbarians receive the great power of the King of Yan again, and let the banner of my Ming flies on the desert grassland!"

Zhu Di's eyes lit up, then he quickly dimmed again, and said weakly: "Thank you for your trust, my son... I hope to make a blood oath with the blood on my head today! The King of Yan will never rebel against the king for generations! If you violate this oath, my son is willing to be thundered by the nine heavens and will never be reborn!"

"Okay! OK! Good son, good son!"

Zhu Yuanzhang burst into tears, his gray hair seemed to be telling the world that he was no longer the Huaiyou common man who once dominated the world and was in power. At this moment, he was just a poor old man who felt sorry for his son.

Time is like a wave, washing away all the heroes.

Two days later, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an order to entrusted the Yan King Zhu Di to return to Beiping to lead the army to fight against the Qierji tribe of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and transferred dozens of thousands of households in Henan, Shandong and Shanxi, and nearly 80,000 officers and soldiers accompanied him to the expedition.

This imperial edict caused an uproar among all civil and military officials in the court.

Huang Zicheng, the official of Chunfang, was the first to object. Huang Zicheng and Xiao Fan's views were consistent with this point. The King of Yan was a tiger and wolf, and could only stay in the capital and not be released back to the fief. Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial edict was tantamount to returning to the mountain. This would be very unfavorable to Zhu Yunwen's future throne.

Huang Zicheng submitted several memorials in a row, but Zhu Yuanzhang kept them and did not send them out, and he did not get a single word of approval.

Just when the civil and military officials in the court were either shocked or suspicious, Zhu Yuanzhang issued a second imperial edict.

This imperial edict is a bit meaningful.

The imperial edict said that after the King of Yan led 80,000 officers and soldiers from three places in Henan, Shandong and Shanxi to defeat the Qierjis tribe of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the officers and soldiers from the three places did not have to return to their original buildings, and stationed on the junction of Henan, Shandong and Shanxi and Beiping Prefecture, each establishing a new thousand-household office to prevent the Northern Yuan Tatars from counterattacking in the next year. After the siege of Beiping, the officers and soldiers from the three places were led by Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, led the officers and soldiers from the three places.

After defeating the Tartars, the former soldiers of the Beiping Prefecture were transferred 50% back to Beijing, and the Five Army Governor's Office added another new member to the Beiping Prefecture.

This imperial edict confused all the ministers. A careful minister hurriedly took the map and took a look, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi, where are these three places? They are all close to Beiping Prefecture! They are located in the east, south and west of Beiping. It can be said that the soldiers of the eighty thousand garrisons stationed at the junction of these three places and Beiping. From another perspective, it is equivalent to completely sealing all the roads to the south of Beiping, and forming a three-sided surround Beiping. Once there is any disturbance in Beiping Prefecture, the soldiers of the three garrisons can quickly pounce on Beiping as soon as possible.

The first imperial edict was said to be Zhu Yuanzhang showed his kindness to the fourth prince Zhu Di, but the second imperial edict also exerted his might.

What does the emperor mean when he does this?

Did he want to prepare for the reduction of the vassal states or was he too favored to the prince?

The power of heaven was unpredictable. Before he could figure out what Zhu Yuanzhang meant, all the ministers shut up, including Huang Zicheng, who was the most clamoring.

When Xiao Fan heard the news, he sighed heavily, and his heart was filled with shadow. Zhu Yuanzhang's reaction was as expected. He could not bear to deal with his son, but was worried that his son would rebel in the future. So he dispatched troops to encircle Peiping and took the lead in strategically. The political significance of this move was greater than that of military significance. Zhu Yuanzhang intended to warn Zhu Di to let you go back to Peiping, but be careful and don't have any thoughts you shouldn't have.

From Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective, doing this would have killed Zhu Di's unjust heart in the cradle.

But from the perspective of Xiao Fan, a time traveler, Zhu Yuanzhang's actions were of little significance. If a tiger returns to the mountain and a dragon enters the sea, what is the 80,000 soldiers on the periphery like Zhu Di? When it should be, he will still rebel.

When all parties in the capital were in turmoil, Xiao Fan led Master Zhang Sanfeng to the palace to meet Tianyan.

Even if it is the Jinyiwei Tongzhi, it is not so easy to bring a stranger to the emperor. He still has to report to the Ministry of Rites, and then the Ministry of Rites will verify it and finally report it to the emperor. After the emperor nodded in agreement to announce the opinions, Xiao Fan and Zhang Sanfeng could enter the palace.

The reporting process went smoothly. Zhang Sanfeng went to the Ministry of Rites’ yamen by himself. The officials of the Ministry of Rites regarded him as a liar. Xiao Fan led him there, and the effect was very different.

Since Xiao Tongzhi, the Jinyiwei, said that he was Zhang Sanfeng, he must be Zhang Sanfeng. Even if he was not, the responsibility for His Majesty’s fault in the future will be all on Xiao Fan.

So the officials of the Ministry of Rites were so happy that they made a favor and reported it to Zhu Yuanzhang without saying a word. Zhu Yuanzhang heard that the famous old immortal Zhang had actually come to the capital, and he was overjoyed and immediately waved his hand and saw him!

That afternoon, Xiao Fan led Zhang Sanfeng into the palace.
To be continued...